The lovey-dovey Sunheart couple could not hide their shock. Since both of them medically treated people, they were more sensitive to mana and aura; this was especially the case for the aura master, Drew.
Both of them could feel Naell's mastery over the two elemental magic circling around the palms of his hands.
Andrea was the first to speak. She was still in awe but noticeably less than the two. This was all thanks to Alicia, who in the past often surprised her with those kinds of things.
"Are you sure you are not Acia dressed up as a boy?"
.
.
.
"Ma'am Andrea... I have a man---ly."
"Please call me Auntie~"
"Erm... I'm quite manly figure-wise to be called a lady."
'No, you are not.' Thoughts that the three of them could not relay as to not hurt Naell's feelings.
*cough*
Sebastian, as to get the couple's attention and to distract Naell from seeing their gaze of pity towards him, had managed to speak as he recovered from being shocked.
"Well done Naell, Hohoho. I wouldn't be surprised if you told me you could use ice magic too."
"Actually, I have no idea how to even combine these two." Naell then put his palms closer together, but as soon as he did that, the wind and water magic disappeared.
Upon seeing that, The lovey-dovey couple and Sebastian let out a sigh of relief. Any further revelation would have made them lifeless. Naell was truly not for the faint of heart.
But before they could truly relax, they heard Naell's voice, as clear as water and as chilly as the wind. He smiled without a care as he nonchalantly declared,
"...Although Sensei, I think I might be able to pull it off, if you could show me your snow!"
"..."
Drew loudly breathed out as he laid back on his chair, brushing up his already messy spiked up hair.
"...It is not an exaggeration to say your mana is overflowing, just like with the dragons."
Andrea added on as she remembered her good friend. A warm giggle and a caring voice filled the room.
"And your control of mana is way better than Acia, Nell... If she was here, I'm sure she'd brag about you haughtily all the time."
"HAHAHA !"
"Hohoho"
.
.
.
The check-up went smoothly with occasional childish laughter and scolding. Naell's relationship with Andrew's parents became better, and a somewhat overly doting Uncle and Auntie had been made.
Sebastian frowned seeing the three kids getting along. The idea of having a cheeky student and at the same time an irresponsible young master in the future bothered him.
As they were leaving, Andrea again pointed out things that Naell should not forget. Her husband, Drew who was just standing in the back with his arms crossed was grinning and nodding.
Drew then silently approached Sebastian. The butler could understand a bit, as to why he cautiously took their conversation away from Naell's ears.
"Sensei, Naell---"
"I know... I hope we can find a way."
Andrea began as she faced Naell who was already in the exit. She lowered herself to directly meet the young mage's gaze. She then smiled, and with a doting Auntie-like voice and appearance, started to talk,
"Remember Nell, your body right now is not capable of using all your mana."
Naell nodded in agreement. Andrea continued while glancing towards Sebastian, who was cautiously nodding as well.
"Sooo--- it is better for you to limit your mana usage to at least below 50%."
"Hohoho, so the remaining months will be utilized for your body to get used to your mana!"
"Yes Auntie. Looking forward to the training, Sensei."
Andrea could not hide her happiness upon hearing the word "Auntie".
"Hehehe ...Auntie."
They bid farewell and decided to go home and rest for tomorrow. As for Naell, without anyone's knowledge, he continued training even when he was alone.
*******
Spring on the Western continent was colder at night. Especially within the Berlydot estate that was near the Northern border of the Western kingdom.
The novel described the whole world as having 4 seasons that had a 3 month interval. Human kingdoms named their kingdom with correlation to the continent's main season--- which happened to be the name of the continent. North was the Country of Christmas, West was the Autumn Kingdom, East was the Easterside Empire, while the South was called The Republic of Summer.
There were other realms and kingdoms that were ruled by other races, such as the Elven kingdom in the Fall continent, and the demon realm, said to be at the center of the world that had not been ventured yet, due to their perilous seas and the dangerous demon race.
Naell was actually reading all of that again in the Beryldot library. He needed to confirm his knowledge and studies for his soon departure to the capital.
Even so, he did not neglect his magic training. His body still could not handle his mana, even with his control and mastery of different magic vastly improving.
Thus, in his free time, Naell still read books that he truly loved, all while using a little bit of mana to train.
'50% isn't really a problem. I don't intend to get involved anyway.' Naell thought about the story of the book. He did not know if upon entering that world, any changes had occurred towards the story. He recalled the events that should have happened by then, starting from the bandit hideout that would awaken Andrew's magic.
'Andrew and co should have arrived in the capital by now.'
After arriving in the capital, Andrew and his friends will further train to hone their abilities. They will also actively do missions from the Adventurer's guild to cover their expenses.
'There, they will be reunited with Rinca.' Naell's thoughts were complicated. Truthfully speaking, He did not want to go to the capital and study since it would twist the story of the book.
'If it weren't for that succession problem.' Not only would it change the story, but Naell was afraid of meeting anyone of them, especially Rinca Arigare, the old Naell's ex-fiance.
'I really have to do my best to keep myself out of their sight.' There was not an inch of his being that wanted to meet any of them. He could only plan ahead as much as he could, but accidents were bound to happen, just like how he met the Sunheart lovey-dovey couple, regardless of how happy it turned out to be.
"And to really keep me out of the story." He clenched both of his fists as hard as he could. He unintentionally spoke his mind, and louder than he should have, at that. Thus, the mystery of the [Shrieking book] had been solidified as one of the true horrors that awaits the visitors of Beryldot's library.
*******
Months passed by in the blink of an eye. Naell's body was finally getting used to his mana but 55% was his current limit. He had talent in learning and copying magic by sensing the flow of mana on that said magic, but his body was still mediocre.
'Not only can he use ice, but also copy my snow.' When Sebastian showed Naell his snow magic, the butler almost had a heart attack upon seeing how the young mage, not only made snow, but copied the principles behind it to produce ice.
They trained on the Grassy plains on several occasions. Most of their training involved overcoming the body's limit by continually using mana detection, elemental magic, levitation, and mana shield simultaneously.
There were times when they would even participate in missions with relation to monsters. That was where Sebastian first witnessed that the 50% mana usage of his student was already the equivalent of a B-class adventurer's.
Most of the soldiers and adventurers could not believe it when Naell began to take part in those said missions. His long white hair and red eyes didn't fail to make them quiver in fear.
And yet, the wind that repelled the invading monsters, and the mana barrier reinforced with the element of water that safeguarded those in need, left most of them in awe.
That was why, without Naell's knowledge, his bad reputation in his estate started to fade, and was even more so during the time a huge crowd of goblins headed by a peak C-class Goblin Champion started to invade a nearby village.
In their world, goblins were the usual small green creatures known for their numbers and nimble bodies. They would usually be D-class monsters with the exception of the evolved ones, such as the C-class, or even the A-class Goblin king.
Sebastian at the time of the invasion, was preoccupied elsewhere. As he suspiciously kept his destination a secret, Naell couldn't help but jokingly think of the North Pole. The young mage was then alone training when he detected the incursion. He immediately went to the troubled village after reporting it to the nearby guards.
By then, Naell's mana detection magic at 50% was capable of being equal or slightly below Sebastian's own detection magic.
Upon arriving shortly with the use of his levitation magic, Naell saw everyone's fear.
The residents at first, speculated that Naell was the leader of the invasion. It soon changed, when he hastily made a sturdy snow fortress and slowed down the advances of the Goblins. By then, the villagers were already grateful for his actions.
Baron Fharom, upon hearing the news, immediately dispatched the soldiers of Beryldot to subjugate the invading goblins. As a result, human casualties were avoided. Only Naell, who had to maintain his shield for hours, had suffered exhaustion which resulted in his collapse.
Naell's fainting could have been prevented, had he only chosen to go on the offense rather than defend, but as someone who once lived on earth, killing someone was taboo for him. Not to mention, that method would have surely caused human casualties as the goblins reached hundreds.
When he had woken up, he immediately went and told the village chief to not spread word of what he did. He even went so far as to use his Sensei aka the [Fortress] to change the story into how Sebastian Claus prevented the goblin invasion.
Naell had a reason for not wanting to be known or even stand out to the public. He knew how much of a hassle it would be to become a hero of some sort, but mostly he did all that to avoid having to go to Duke Arigare's place, the home of where he thought he'd surely breathe his last.
Little did Naell know, tales of his heroic deeds have already spread in his estate, therefore lessening his bad reputation.
"Naell, that is all for today." Sebastian approached him while clapping both of his hands together. Naell then halted his mana, and a slightly out of breath mage was then seen standing feebly.
"Thank you, Sensei." Somewhat disappointed, Naell could only respond with a complicated look in his eyes.
'I won't last a day if I ever need to run from someone strong or shield myself from a big explosion.'
Misunderstanding Naell's demeanor, Sebastian could only apologize as he thought he was lacking.
"I'm sorry, Naell. I can only do this much. I'm sure during your studies in the capital you'll be able to grow immensely."
"You've been a great teacher, Sensei. My body is to blame." Naell was of course just scared of going to the capital. Sebastian then patted his shoulder before speaking,
"Hohoho, we still have weeks before you go to the capital, Naell. For now, let us go back and rest. We will have to be early tomorrow!"